N.H. AG Investigating 2 Ex-Claremont Officers

Claremont — The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office has opened a criminal investigation into the conduct of two Claremont police officers, authorities said on Wednesday evening.

Attorney General Gordon MacDonald said in a news release that the probe stems from information provided earlier this month by Claremont Police Chief Mark Chase regarding officers Ian Kibbe and Mark Burch.

The investigation is exploring allegations the two officers “falsified documentation related to a search” that took place in late February, according to the release.

In a Wednesday evening email to the Valley News, Chase said Kibbe and Burch no longer are employed by the Claremont Police Department, but offered no further details about either officer’s tenure.

The investigation into the claims is ongoing, MacDonald said in the release. No other information was available on Wednesday.

Kibbe previously was investigated by the state Attorney General’s Office for his role in a fatal 2016 police shooting in Claremont. He eventually was found to have been justified in his use of deadly force against 25-year-old Cody LaFont and was cleared in the case, according to a report by then-Attorney General Joe Foster.

Kibbe shot LaFont three times after LaFont advanced toward the Claremont officer with a revolver drawn and ignored commands to drop the weapon in the entryway of his home.